Odysseus A Hero
The Odyssey Hero Paper
We all know who a hero is, right? The person who saves the day and is willing to risk their life and does nothing but good in the world. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus who encounters many mythical creatures on his way home to Ithaca, and those creatures try to stop and kill Odysseus from getting home. He then lands on Calypso’s island where she keeps him captive for 7 years until Hermes orders Calypso to let him go. When Odysseus finally gets home, he and his son Telemachus destroy the suitors that invaded his house while he was gone on his journey, and is finally reunited with Penelope after being away from home for 20 years. Odysseus is not a hero because he isn’t selfless, does not go above and beyond in …show more content…
But that does not necessarily make someone a hero. Special Hero: What makes a Hero states that “It turns out a hero doesn’t have to fly. They are often grounded”(Emert 1). This says that people do not have to go on an epic quest or fight mythical creatures or have superpowers to be considered a hero. For example, firemen have been considered heroes and they do not have any powers or go on an epic quest, etc. In book 12 of The Odyssey, Odysseus says “We rowed on. The rocks were now behind; Charybdis too, and Scylla dropped astern.”(Homer 1136). When Odysseus and his men encounter these monsters, he does not save the day by saving his men when they are eaten by these monsters, and one of the key traits of being a hero is to save the day in the face of danger. While Odysseus does have some of the traits that we consider that makes someone a hero, Odysseus does not use them in times of need. In book 12 of The Odyssey, Odysseus says “The blind thing in his doubled fury broke a hilltop in his hands and heaved it after us.”(Homer 1121). It does not state in the story that he warned his men about the incoming mountain and did not do anything to stop it, he just let it happen and some of his men could have gotten hurt. He could have told his men that the mountain was coming or to look out, but he did not use some of the traits that make him a
We all know who a hero is, right? The person who saves the day and is willing to risk their life and does nothing but good in the world. The Odyssey is about a man named Odysseus who encounters many mythical creatures on his way home to Ithaca, and those creatures try to stop and kill Odysseus from getting home. He then lands on Calypso’s island where she keeps him captive for 7 years until Hermes orders Calypso to let him go. When Odysseus finally gets home, he and his son Telemachus destroy the suitors that invaded his house while he was gone on his journey, and is finally reunited with Penelope after being away from home for 20 years. Odysseus is not a hero because he isn’t selfless, does not go above and beyond in …show more content…
But that does not necessarily make someone a hero. Special Hero: What makes a Hero states that “It turns out a hero doesn’t have to fly. They are often grounded”(Emert 1). This says that people do not have to go on an epic quest or fight mythical creatures or have superpowers to be considered a hero. For example, firemen have been considered heroes and they do not have any powers or go on an epic quest, etc. In book 12 of The Odyssey, Odysseus says “We rowed on. The rocks were now behind; Charybdis too, and Scylla dropped astern.”(Homer 1136). When Odysseus and his men encounter these monsters, he does not save the day by saving his men when they are eaten by these monsters, and one of the key traits of being a hero is to save the day in the face of danger. While Odysseus does have some of the traits that we consider that makes someone a hero, Odysseus does not use them in times of need. In book 12 of The Odyssey, Odysseus says “The blind thing in his doubled fury broke a hilltop in his hands and heaved it after us.”(Homer 1121). It does not state in the story that he warned his men about the incoming mountain and did not do anything to stop it, he just let it happen and some of his men could have gotten hurt. He could have told his men that the mountain was coming or to look out, but he did not use some of the traits that make him a